Akina Shirayama
ENG099
Portfolio Preface
Writing is very important way to communicate with others, keep files, and show your work to others and make them understand you. I write almost everyday especially when I have to do my homework. I get a lot of writing assignments at college. I will also need to have good writing skills after I get a job in the future because I will send letters to other companies, and make many documents. Most professors ask students to do paper assignments. For example, in ENG 102, you have to make final papers that are over ten pages. Similarly but not so many, I already had an assignment at introduction to business class. I wrote five pages paper about business ethics. In the papers, I wrote my opinions about the ideal shape of business ethics with examples of current unethical businesses. If there is no writing, you will not able to convey what you want to say to other people. To make you understood more, and to exchange opinions, you have to have good writing skills. Unfortunately, I could not pass an ACT exam when I took the exam before the enrollment. And I was put into ESL courses. At that time, I felt bad because I wanted to take more college courses and wanted to study business more. However, I appreciate the opportunity to get much time to improve my writing skills now. Without these basic skills, I would not be able to fulfill other courses well.
I am taking ENG099 in my second semester. After I finishedESL courses and wrote many college style essays, I reached ENG099. In this class, I wrote college style essays, formal letters, short papers, and ACT style essays in which you have to choose an option from two and have to take your position, and you have to support your option with three examples. Besides, we wrote a few sentences about some topics every Tuesday morning. Through these works, I got more writing skills than before. Just after I entered this college, I could not write long essay. Because I was just writing about the most important things which I wanted to say strongly, my essays end quickly. However, I learned to make the sentences very long by writing details and examples in ESL courses. Moreover, I learned how to support the theses statements strongly in ENG099. My weakness is that I cannot support the theses statements because I cannot think out examples. I think essays without examples have no power to make readers understand clearly. In the beginning of the class, I wrote something that happens anywhere for the examples. It was not so effective and it could not influence readers. I learned to make up the examples through practices for ACT exam. By practicing the way to imagine the situation and make up the examples, I was getting somehow. Examples and details give the essays lives. When I took ACT exam again at the end of ENG099 class, many examples were raising in my head and I could write many examples though I think I still needed to mention wider topic not just the example from around myself. I think I have overcome some problem making examples through ENG099. What’s more, my second weakness is that I cannot use correct words to express my feeling. I have less vocabulary than native people. But thing is I am learning and am practical about it. It is my weakness but I can make readers understand by saying details and explain words with many expressions. My strength is to make organized essays. When I write a paper, I always care about readers. I write paper so that reader can understand easily and clearly. For example, I make essays following time order. Thus, reader can imagine the situation vividly in order. Because I am not good at reading and understanding it, I try to make easy sentences that everybody can understand as possible as I can.
I am glad that I can write a long essay and kind of supportive essay now that I could not write when I entered this college. I have progressed a lot when I did not notice it. As I evaluate myself now, I appreciate the writing classes which I have taken so far. And ENG099 really helped me to write formal writing. In the class, I could study the same things with native English speaker students. If I can pass this class, I am going to take ENG101 in Fall 2 which is next session. I know ENG101 is much harder than this class, but I will try to do well on that class. I hope I can take that class and I would like to focus on writing more in short time, Fall 2.